India women’s team batter VR Vanitha on Monday announced retirement from all forms of the game at the age of 31 She represented the country in six women’s ODIs and 16 T20Is from 2014 to 2016.
“19 years ago, when I started playing cricket, I was just a little girl who loved sport. Even to this day, my love for cricket remains the same. What’s changing is direction. My heart says continue playing, my body says stop and I’ve decided to listen to the latter. Time is ripe to hang my boots. I hereby announce my retirement from all forms of cricket. It’s been a journey of struggles, joy, heartbreak, learning and personal milestones,” wrote Vanitha.
“While there are a few regrets, I’m grateful for the opportunities I got, especially to represent India. Along the way, there have been many people I want to thank, each and everyone who has supported me through these years -My parents and siblings who have been a rock by my side, Irian sir who guided me, honed my skills in my early years, Naz bhai who spent several hours at nets watching over me,” Vanitha added.
Vanitha made her international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2014. She went on to represent India in six ODIs and 16 T20Is, scoring 85 and 216 runs, averaging 17 and 14.40 respectively. Vanitha also thanked the two state associations Karnataka and Bengal that she represented in domestic cricket. During the 2021-22 domestic season, Vanitha guided Bengal to the semi-finals of the Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy, scoring 225 runs with knocks of 61 against Andhra and a 71-ball 107 against Hyderabad.